Teleportation
Teleportation, Portals, or Displacements, are a means of transferring matter between two locations or dimensions, regardless of their proximity. It is the central and most pivotal theme of the ''Half-Life'' universe. Overview Via technological artifice, teleportation is usually achieved instantaneously. The most common and popular form of teleportation is to use a portal; essentially two connected gateways, which allow an object entering one gateway to leave via the other. Another method was investigated by Black Mesa, and later improved upon by the Resistance. Black Mesa Teleportation was a major field of study at Black Mesa, and their portals were used primarily in the procurement of Xen Crystals, as they were used to transport scientists to and from the Borderworld for research and analysis. The portals can be used to travel between Xen and Earth, however, portals that allow for travel within the same dimension can be found across the facility, notably in the Lambda Reactor Core, which contains 9 portals, three on each of its three levels. Both Gordon Freeman (through the Black Mesa's Lambda Core teleport) and Barney Calhoun traveled to Xen through such a teleport to escape from Black Mesa before its destruction. The Displacer Cannon, found and used by Adrian Shephard, also allows for inter-dimensional travel. During his brief visit to Xen, Barney is also required to activate and calibrate a "focal point," which was then used by Doctor Rosenberg to teleport several members of the Science Team outside of Black Mesa. Aperture Science Research into the portal technology by Aperture Science focused upon travel within the same dimension. Portal technology was discovered with far more ease, and far earlier, than at Black Mesa. The technology first appeared to be used in the 1950s in the form of the Aperture Science Portable Quantum Tunneling Device, which was eventually streamlined into the far more portable Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. The ASHPD, or "Portal Gun," was used as a quick method of travel over potentially unlimited distances. These portals follow a more simplified portal style, where light is able to enter the portal and send an image of both sides. They also allow for a more instantaneous transit between the portals, as it is simply a matter of walking in and appearing out of the other one. The ability to place them on any flat surface with holes or a Moon rock surface to attach a portal to makes these much more versatile and efficient than their Black Mesa counterparts. Resistance and Combine During The Uprising, the Resistance was able to develop new advancements in portal technology that allowed for single-dimensional travel. The Combine, developing alongside the Resistance, were able to make advancements, however, were still unable to discover the means of single-dimension teleportation, and were forced to use conventional means of transportation if they wanted to stay within a single dimension. The teleport in Kleiner's lab was perfected upon Gordon's arrival in City 17, and it was inaugurated by Alyx Vance, who had a successful transit to Black Mesa East. However, being fragile, the teleporter was damaged by Lamarr during Gordon's attempt, and he was, instead, teleported outside of the lab. It must be noted however, that human-made teleports are able to accomplish this feat by using the dimensional borderworld Xen as a relay; in the words of Judith Mossman, "we figured out how to use Xen as an unexpressed axis, effectively a dimensional slingshot so we can swing around the borderworld and come back to local space without having to pass through." This method of using an "Unexpressed Axis" centered on Xen removes the need to travel through it or to use a focusing device (like the one activated by Barney Calhoun), but instead use a modulator to emulate its effects. Additionally, during the Combine raid on White Forest, teleporters are used to supply Freeman with Magnusson Devices. These teleporters are smaller and portable, allowing them to be placed in the surrounding wilderness and regularly replenished with the devices. The Combine also housed their own teleport in the Depot, where it is seemingly used for transporting prisoners. When Alyx and Gordon visit Nova Prospekt to rescue Eli Vance, they are required to use this teleport to return to Kleiner's lab. When the teleporter is finally charged, Alyx and Gordon end up in City 17 a week later. Using a different technology to the Resistance teleporters, the Combine were able to covertly work on same-dimensional travel, however the device was not able to teleport large masses, and required a long time to recharge. As oppose to the "sling shot" method, they used "string-based" technology. Xen Xen creatures are also able to use portals to travel between worlds; after the Resonance Cascade, they can be seen teleporting in and out of the Black Mesa Research Facility. The Nihilanth's ability to create portals, while controlling their placement and timing, made the siege on Black Mesa all the more easy, as they were able to teleport into almost all areas of the facility. Xen also features several small monolithic teleports and portals, as well as a larger teleport leading to the Nihilanth's lair. After Gordon is trapped in stasis by the G-Man, just before the destruction of the Citadel's core, he is rescued by numerous Vortigaunts imbibed with Antlion larval extract, who teleport him and Alyx to the base of the Citadel. Race X Race X creatures seemed to have mastered teleportation technology, even with single units teleporting at will. The difference is that their portals are purple rather than green. Superportal As its name suggests, this is a considerably larger portal, capable of transporting much larger volumes of matter over greater distances. When Alyx and Gordon escape from City 17 during the uprising, they see in the distance the remains of the Citadel, and the infant superportal, which was said if it were to open, would allow Combine units to sweep in and recapture Earth. However, Superportals take a while to gain strength before opening; sometimes, causing Portal Storms in the process. Gallery Half-Life and its Expansions Pre-release File:Teleport out sillhouette.jpg|Scientist teleports while other scientist watches and then gets scared. File:Lambda Reactor Core beta.jpg|Early teleports in an early Lambda Reactor Core. Retail File:Cascade1.jpg|Vortigaunt being teleported in Test Lab C-33/a during the Resonance Cascade. File:Cascade2.jpg|Ditto. File:C3a2c0002.jpg|The G-Man teleporting out of the Lambda Complex. File:Sector F teleport.jpg|The Lambda Complex teleport, the Dimensional Portal Device. File:Teleport Nihilanth.jpg|The teleport leading to Nihilanth's lair. File:G-Man portal dam.jpg|The G-Man about to teleport through a portal near the Hydro-Electric Plant. File:We Are Not Alone 3.jpg|Gordon Freeman teleporting to Xen. File:Sprites xen.jpg|Race X portal on Xen, from which flow Sprites. File:Displacer first 2.jpg|Scientist falling from a portal on Xen with a Displacer. File:Displacer w.jpg|The Displacer. File:Gene Worm enters.jpg|The Gene Worm coming through its portal. File:Chumtoad teleport.jpg|Chumtoads teleporting on Xen. File:Rosenberg is pleased.jpg|The Section A-17 Prototype Labs teleport. File:Ba xen60003.jpg|Barney Calhoun about to teleport from Xen through a portal. File:Rosenberg portal.jpg|Rosenberg about to teleport out of Black Mesa through a portal. Half-Life 2 and its Episodes File:D1 trainstation 050031.jpg|Kleiner's usable mini teleport. File:Kleiner teleport idle.jpg|The teleport in Kleiner's Lab. File:Bme teleport.jpg|The teleport in Black Mesa East. File:Combine teleport1.jpg|The Combine teleport in the lower levels of the Depot. File:Combine teleport2.jpg|Ditto. File:Combine teleport3.jpg|Ditto. File:Alyx vorts intervention.jpg|Alyx Vance about to be teleported out of the Citadel by the Vortigaunts. Portal series File:Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device Portal.jpg|The Portal Device. File:Chell momentum.jpg|Chell falling through her own portals. List of appearances * Half-Life: Day One * Half-Life * Half-Life: Opposing Force * Half-Life: Blue Shift * Half-Life: Decay * Half-Life 2 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar * Half-Life 2: Deathmatch * Half-Life 2: Episode One * ApertureScience.com * Portal * Half-Life 2: Episode Two * Portal: First Slice * Portal: Still Alive * ''Portal'' ARG * ''PotatoFoolsDay'' ARG * Portal 2: Lab Rat * Portal 2 * The Final Hours of Portal 2 References See also * Superportal * Resonance Cascade * Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device External links * Category:Half-Life Category:Half-Life: Opposing Force Category:Half-Life: Blue Shift Category:Half-Life: Decay Category:Half-Life 2 Category:Half-Life 2: Episode One Category:Portal Category:Half-Life 2: Episode Two Category:Technology Category:Quantum events Category:Recurring themes Category:Resistance technology Category:Combine technology Category:Black Mesa technology Category:Aperture Science technology Category:Portal 2